Hand held vacuum cleaner and housing for such a cleaner

ABSTRACT

A housing for a hand held vacuum cleaner is so constructed that a suction motor mounting bracket which is enclosed by a lower housing section, is removably secured to an upper housing section. A suction coupling pipe section is either an integral part of or directly secured to the suction motor mounting bracket, so that forces introduced to a suction tool attached to the suction coupling pipe section are transmitted through the mounting bracket to the upper housing section thereby at least partly relieving the lower housing section from forces passing from the suction tool to the handle and vice versa.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 of German Patent Application 10 2004 046 382.4, filed on Sep. 24,2004, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to hand held vacuum cleaners and particularly tohousings for such cleaners.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Hand held vacuum cleaners have a divided housing with an upper housingsection holding a filter and a lower housing section holding a suctionmotor. A handle is connected to the upper housing section. The suctionmotor is mounted to and in the lower housing section. A suction tool isattachable to the lower housing section on the outside thereof by asuction coupling pipe section for transporting dirt carrying air intothe upper housing section in which the filter separates the dirt fromthe suction air.

Various modifications in the arrangement of the above mentionedcomponents are known in the art. When such vacuum cleaners are used,forces are applied to the vacuum tool e.g. when the vacuum tool ispushed against a piece of furniture or a wall. These forces areintroduced into the lower housing section but the reaction force isapplied through the handle secured to the upper housing section. As aresult, any strain must be transmitted through the lower housing sectionmore specifically through the connection between the upper and lowerhousing sections whereby a separation of the motor carrying lowerhousing section from the upper housing section is possible. This defectleaves room for improvement.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is the aim of the invention to achieve thefollowing objects singly or in combination:

-   -   to avoid the above problem, more specifically to permit a force        transmission from a suction tool to the handle and vice versa        without separating the housing sections from one another;    -   to provide a connection between a mounting bracket which carries        at least one function element such as a suction motor, and the        upper housing section so that any lower housing section is at        least partly relieved from transmitting forces; and    -   to provide a lower housing section that functions as an        enclosure for a mounting bracket and is at least partly relieved        from transmitting forces.

The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of theprior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from thepresent specification. The attainment of these objects is, however, nota required limitation of the claimed invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objects have been achieved by the combination of the followingfeatures. A mounting bracket for holding at least one function element,such as a suction motor, is surrounded by a lower housing section. Asuction tool is carried at one end of the mounting bracket. The otherend of the mounting bracket is secured by connecting elements to theupper housing section, for example by releasable screws, whereby forcesapplied to the suction tool pass primarily through the mounting bracketand through the connecting elements to the upper housing section and tothereby at least partly bypass the lower housing section which is thusrelieved from transmitting certain forces. A form locking connectionbetween the mounting bracket and the upper housing section is optional.

Preferably, the mounting bracket is formed by contoured walls ofsufficient strength for the transmission of forces. The mounting bracketwalls form an enclosure or chamber for the suction motor and are in turnenclosed by the lower housing section. The chamber forming the mountingbracket has for example at least one slanted bottom wall whichfacilitates the arrangement of air flow channels through the mountingbracket and efficiently uses the available space. A suction couplingpipe section is either secured to or formed as an integral part of themounting bracket. Independently of the shape of the mounting bracket,the suction coupling pipe section is preferably secured to or anintegral part of a wall of the mounting bracket.

The mounting bracket forms an enclosure for the suction motor which maybe mounted to any wall portion of the mounting bracket, for example to abottom or side wall of the mounting bracket. When two slanted mountingbracket bottom walls are provided, these walls extend preferably, butnot necessarily, at a right angle to each other but at another angle tothe vertical, e.g. 45°. The suction motor is preferably mounted to bothslanted bottom walls so that the motor's rotation axis extends inparallel to one slanted bottom wall and perpendicularly to the otherslanted bottom wall which provides a very efficient use of the availablespace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, it will now bedescribed in connection with an example embodiment thereof, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an overall view of a hand held vacuum cleaner according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view through the present mounting bracketformed as a chamber with contoured walls, the suction motor is notshown;

FIG. 3 is a perspective and sectional view through the present vacuumcleaner; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 but showing only a lowerportion of the present vacuum cleaner with the suction motor secured inthe present mounting bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT AND OF THE BESTMODE OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1 the present hand held vacuum cleaner V has a vacuumtool 1 exchangeably secured to a suction coupling pipe section 2 whichis preferably an integral component of a mounting bracket 3 according tothe invention. Alternatively, the coupling pipe section may beattachable to the mounting bracket.

The vacuum cleaner V has a lower housing section 4 and an upper housingsection 6. The lower housing section 4 is removably secured at 3E to themounting bracket 3 by a connecting flange 4A, please see FIG. 4. Themounting bracket 3 in turn is releasably connected to the upper housingsection 6 by a connecting element such as a flange 5 connected to acomplementary element CE of the upper housing section 6 as best seen inFIG. 4. The lower housing section 4 forms an envelope for the mountingbracket 3. The mounting bracket participates in the force transmissionbetween the suction tool 1 and a handle 7 secured to the upper housingsection 6. Forces applied to the handle are also transmitted through themounting bracket 3 to the tool 1. Thus, the mounting bracket at leastpartly relieves the lower housing section 4 from transmitting forcesbetween the tool 1 and the handle 7, whereby an unintended separation ofthe housing sections 4 and 6 from each other is prevented.

The suction coupling pipe section 2 forms a suction channel one end 8 ofwhich is releasably connected to the suction tool 1 while the other end9 is releasably connected to a suction hose 10 that leads to a filterspace enclosed by the upper housing section 6. The arrows 15 shown inFIG. 1 illustrate the flow of the suction air generated by a functionelement such as a suction motor 12 mounted in a chamber or enclosure 11formed by the mounting bracket 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mounting bracket 3 has bottom walls 3Aand 3B interconnected with each other for example at an angle, such asapproximately 90°, and contoured side walls to form the chamber orenclosure 11 in which the suction motor 12, not shown in FIG. 2, ismounted, preferably so that the rotation axis of the motor 12 extends inparallel to a wall 3A and perpendicularly to another wall 3B of themounting bracket 3. For this purpose, a bearing bed BB for the bearingor support 13A of the suction motor 12 is formed in the bottom wall 3B.The element CE is, for example, a rim that fits onto the flange 5 andboth elements are interconnected for example by releasable screws, notshown.

The chamber 11 formed by the mounting bracket 3 also functions as anoise damper and holds the motor support elements 13, 13A. The supportelements 13 preferably also have a sealing characteristic for sealing asuction inlet of the motor 12 from an air discharge outlet 14 from thechamber 11. A contour 3D of the mounting bracket 3 facilitates centeringthe mounting bracket 3 relative to the upper housing section 6.

Referring further to FIGS. 1 and 2 in conjunction the air dischargeoutlet 14 is preferably provided in the connection area between theupper housing section 6 and the mounting bracket 3 for example justabove the area of the connecting flange 5 through a port in the wall ofthe mounting bracket 3 for discharging air from the air discharge sideof the motor 12. The lower housing section 4 has an upper rim 4A whichencircles a cooperating portion, such as a collar 3E, of the mountingbracket 3. A cover 17 below a filter 16 separates the air discharge sideof the chamber 11 from the upper housing section 6.

The rigid screw connection between the mounting bracket 3 and the upperhousing section 6 is a disconnectable connection. The mounting bracket 3carries the suction connection pipe section 2, preferably as an integralpart of the bracket 3. Thus, the suction connection pipe section 2 withthe tool 1 attached thereto, is connected to the handle 7 through thebracket 3 and through the upper housing section 6. This connection trainassures a secure and proper force transmission between the tool 1 andthe handle 7 and vice versa without any danger that the mounting bracket3, which also carries the lower housing section 4, is separated from theupper housing section 6.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be appreciated that it is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the appendedclaims. It should also be understood that the present disclosureincludes all possible combinations of any individual features recited inany of the appended claims.

1. A housing for a hand held vacuum cleaner, said housing comprising anupper housing section for enclosing a filter, a lower housing sectionenclosing at least one function element, a mounting bracket forsupporting said at least one function element enclosed in said lowerhousing section, said upper housing section comprising a connectingelement, said mounting bracket comprising a member for securing saidmounting bracket to said connecting element of said upper housingsection to provide a releasable connection between said upper housingsection and said mounting bracket for transmitting forces effective onsaid mounting bracket.
 2. The housing of claim 1, wherein said mountingbracket (3) forms a chamber (11) with a first side surrounded by saidconnecting element, and a second side opposite said first side, saidmounting bracket further comprising a coupling suction pipe section (2)secured to said second opposite side of said mounting bracket (3). 3.The housing of claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket forms a chamber(11) in which said at least one function element is mounted to saidmounting bracket.
 4. The housing of claim 3, wherein said at least onefunction element is a suction motor (12), said mounting bracket furthercomprising support elements (13, 13A) securing said suction motor tosaid mounting bracket in said chamber (11), and a cover (17) separatingat least a portion of said chamber (11) from said upper housing section(6).
 5. The housing of claim 4, wherein at least one support element(13) of said support elements functions also as a seal for sealing asuction side of said suction motor from a discharge side of said suctionmotor in said chamber (11) of said mounting bracket (3).
 6. The housingof claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket forms a chamber (11), whereinsaid housing comprises an air discharge channel (14), and wherein saidair discharge channel (14) is operatively connected to at least aportion of said chamber (11) of said mounting bracket (3).
 7. Thehousing of claim 2, wherein said coupling suction pipe section (2) ofsaid mounting bracket (3) comprises a first end (8) for connection to asuction tool (1) and a second end (9) for connecting a suction hose(10), and wherein said coupling suction pipe section (2) is an integralpart of said mounting bracket (3).
 8. The housing of claim 7, whereinsaid second end (9) of said coupling suction pipe section (2) is areleasable coupling for attaching and detaching said suction hose (10).9. The housing of claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket comprisesbracket walls forming an enclosure comprising at least one bottom wallextending at a slanting angle relative to the horizontal.
 10. Thehousing of claim 9, wherein said at least one function element is asuction motor (12) having a rotation axis extending in parallel to saidat least one slanting bottom wall (3A).
 11. A hand held vacuum cleaner,comprising a housing including an upper housing section for enclosing afilter, a handle (7) secured to said upper housing section, a lowerhousing section enclosing at least one suction motor as a functionelement, a mounting bracket supporting said suction motor, a suctionpipe section (2) connected to said mounting bracket (3), said upperhousing section (6) comprising a complementary element (CE), saidmounting bracket (3) comprising a member for releasably securing saidmounting bracket to said complementary element (CE) of said upperhousing section (6) for transmitting forces between said suction pipesection (2) and said handle (7) through said mounting bracket (3) andvice versa.
 12. The hand held vacuum cleaner of claim 11, wherein saidsecuring member of said mounting bracket (3) is a flange (5) that fitsto said complementary element (CE) of said upper housing section CE. 13.The hand held vacuum cleaner of claim 11, wherein said mounting bracket(3) is formed as a chamber (11) with contoured walls.
 14. The hand heldvacuum cleaner of claim 13, wherein said chamber has at least one wallthat is slanted at an angle relative to another chamber wall to providea pointed bottom of said chamber (11).